Lara Log—2

Lara in a hospital bed. — Lara wasn’t looking forward to what that tube was about to do.

Lara is doing well. She went back on the NG tube a couple of nights ago because her discomfort was too much to bear. They got 2400 milliliters out of her stomach that time and another 900 before the morning. When we spoke to the gastroenterologist he said that with how much volume was in there, her stomach got distended to the point that it is now 5 to 8 times its normal size. You can see from the attached x-ray that the NG tube (green arrows) extends down into her pelvic region. The circle represents where a normal stomach should be. The lighter jellyfish shape (including the “tentacles” extending below the circle) represents the chemical contrast they put in there to get an idea of just how distended she was because the hospitalist simply couldn’t believe that the NG tube was actually in her stomach. Her stomach will likely never contract back down to the size it was before this happened as it has lost a lot of its elasticity.

We’re still waiting on the stent to fully open. Before the NG tube reinsertion, they tried her on a full-spectrum liquid diet (potato soup, pudding, applesauce, juice, and jello). We found out the next day that her stent wasn’t opened enough for that yet. So they backed her down to a clear liquid diet for the time being. If the stent doesn’t open up enough they may have to do a procedure to bypass her duodenum by deliberately puncturing a hole in her stomach organ, essentially marrying that up with the jejunum. This can be done endoscopically or surgically. The preference of the gastroenterologist is to do it endoscopically. However, neither option is without significant risk. Open up, stent!!! The doctor will evaluate that on Thursday. The good news is that contrast shows that things are making their way to the colon and she’s had some bowel movements. These are great signs!

They placed her port today and she could begin chemo as early as tomorrow. It’s the oncologist’s call if we start then or not. Initially, day 1 of chemo would have been an outpatient procedure, and days 2 and 3 would be at home via a pump through the port. But now they’re talking about keeping her under observation for those 3 days. So it looks like we’re looking at a Friday discharge at the very soonest.

True to form, Lara is making friends up here. A gastro nurse came to visit her on her day off and brought her some slippers for roaming around these hospital corridors. She also coordinated a shower for Lara. I swear…nurses have nerves of steel and hearts of gold. Give them all raises and extra vacation time.

Thanks are in order. There are too many people to tag. But if you have reached out to Lara or me or commented on posts/changed your profile pictures or whatever out of concern and solidarity, thank you! If you have offered cleaning services, babysitting, meal delivery, or tackling errands for us, thank you! If you are part of the care team here at the hospital, thank you! If you have sent gifts or flowers or cards, thank you! If you have donated to her gofundme, thank you!! 85 donors and counting. If you have shared that gofundme, thank you!! If you were behind the scenes coordinating that gofundme, thank you!! If you have offered to fly here to help however you can, thank you! If you have offered to coordinate Uhauls, storage, and/or transportation, thank you! If you have offered up good vibes, prayers, witchy white light, or burned sage and screamed into the wind on her/our behalf, thank you! If you have meditated because you’re inspired by her, thank you! If you cried, smiled, and/or laughed when thinking of fond memories with her, thank you! If you’ve followed her journey and shown support by reacting to these posts and commenting, thank you! If you love Lara, thank you!

Purple is the color for pancreatic cancer awareness. Let’s flood this thread with loving support for her like an army of Care Bears!

I love you, Babe! You’re my forever woman…my greatest love. Thank you for loving me.